Page 58 of Sworn to My Heart
I turn to glance at him with all the courage I can muster, my semi-transparent white dress revealing a bit of the black bikini beneath.
“For a swim,” I wink at him, knowing he’ll understand my intention.
“You’re not going anywhere without an escort. You don’t have a license, you’ll need a driver,” he commands, but his voice stays calm. He knows there’s no need for flimsy security excuses with me anymore.
“I could get there using the subway or a taxi. I don’t need bodyguards, and you know that,” I reply, my voice growing firmer as I take another step outside.
“You do need a bodyguard. People know you’re my woman now; you’re an easy target without a guard. I’m not willing to risk it. Take Abert with you, and that’s non-negotiable,” he insists. I turn to look at him again, feeling a little warmth inside from his possessiveness and sudden concern.
“I don’t need it. I could get rid of him in a second,” I remind him of what he already know, pointing at Abert, who stands behind him.
Abert chuckles as if I just told Luca that whales fly in the sky.
Luca presses his lips together in frustration and steps closer to whispers in my ear, “Your precious secret would be exposed in a heartbeat if you do that. I know you might not fear my enemies, but you do fear exposure.” He smiles triumphantly as my expression shifts to surprise at his declaration, and I’m sure my face changes colors for a moment. I restrain myself from choking him; he’s using my secret against me now?
“Okay, Abert, we’re going to the nearest beach you can get to from Manhattan,” I command in a thin, gritted voice, not breaking my burning gaze from Luca’s eyes. Abert agrees, and I just want to wipe the satisfied glance off Luca’s face.
“Arrogant jerk,” I mutter to myself, momentarily reflecting on how I had no problem pretending to be weak before Luca knew my secret.. I didn’t really object to going out with Abert.
Why am I so angry about it now? I need to clear my head; I really need to get back into the water.
Just before the door closes completely, I hear Luca talking to the man who stood at the entrance.
“We need to burn those dresses of hers. She’s not leaving the house in them again!” The man chuckles and falls silent in an instant. Luca probably sent him his devilish glare too. Cowards.
I descend with Abert in the elevator to the parking lot and get into the car, taking the passenger seat. Throughout the ride, I don’t exchange a word with him. I put on my headphones, play some music, and close my eyes, feeling excited again about the courage I mustered to swim after such a long time.
An hour passes by before Abert finally speaks to me. “Miss Alin, we’ve arrived,” he announces, and I slowly open my eyes, revealing the view of waves climbing up to the shore from the car window. The waves crash against the large, towering rocks that extend into the water, forming a small, intimate beach. The beach isn’t as big as I expected, and I’m surprised to see it’s completely empty of people. But it’s perfect for me; any area of the sea will always bring me a slight thrill.
I open the car door, thank Abert, and hop out excitedly. Abert exits the car, following me down to the beach. I feel a bit sorry for him as I see him dressed entirely in long black clothes and closed shoes, stepping into the sand in this heat. Good luck cleaning all that later, I giggle to myself, knowing I need to get rid of him before he sees me running into the water without coming back out.
Thinking quickly, I flash him an apologetic glance and ask him to fetch me a towel to sit on. I didn’t bring an organized bag, I just wanted to run to the water to swim. He looks around, ensuring the place is deserted, turns, and returns to the car to get a towel, diligently doing his job. I feel bad for exploiting him this way, but my secret is more important than this. I swiftly take off my dress and bikini, double-checking there’s no one around,and run to hide my clothes behind one of the rocks.
Suddenly, an inexplicable feeling of freedom envelops me. I breathe deeply in the sea breeze and start running quickly into the water, diving in. Within seconds, my legs transform into my tail, and gills appear on my skin. I swim rapidly inward, moving a bit away from the shoreline. My swift swim leaves a long trail of bubbles behind, and the familiar feeling wraps around me again. I look around, still remaining cautious. I can never know when my mother or anyone else from my pod might come back for me. Once I’m sure I am truly alone, I relax and slow down. I let my gills open and absorb the ocean surrounding me, closing my eyes and just swimming slowly with the current.
For the first time in a while, I clear my mind of unnecessary thoughts and surrender to the safety the water provides. I’m not sure how much time passes, but I don’t let that thought bother me. I missed the sea so much. The coral reefs below me are full of life, colorful, with small fish schools swim harmoniously among the corals. I gently touch a long pink glowing anemone that stretches and moves with the water flow like long wavy hair, revealing a small orange clownfish hiding inside. I touch the tip of its face playfully with my finger, and it immediately swims in front of me, rubbing its tail against my nose. I giggle, but then suddenly notice the reef floor starts to darken a bit, the sun’s rays already weakening. How long have I been here?
I decide to return to the shore since I have plans with Cora today, and don’t want to cancel them. I turn to swim back when something shiny catches my eye from the sandy floor against the darkening reef, grabbing my attention. I swim toward the light curiously and gently brush the sand off the new treasure I found.
It’s a necklace with a large oval gold pendant, and in its center is embedded a beautiful ruby stone. The piece looks almost regal. It seems like it can be opened, but I resist the temptationto do so underwater and turn it to the other side, where I see an engraving on the back of the pendant - “Luca.”
Even his name haunts me now. What is this pendant? I’m really tempted to open it, but the clasp is strong, and I am afraid of breaking it if I force it. I’ll return to shore, dry the pendant, and try to open it again. It looks like the kind of pendant humans put pictures in. I used to find many similar ones in shipwrecks at the bottom of the ocean during my treasure hunts. The pictures usually don’t survive underwater, but the charms themselves fetch a good price.
I grip the pendant tightly and quickly swim back to the shore. Using my hands, I drag my body behind a trio of large rocks very close to the water’s edge and transform my tail back into legs. It really has gotten darker outside. I stand up and locate the rock where I left my clothes, get dressed, and head back to find Abert, but to my surprise, he isn’t there.
I search for my phone to call him but remember I left it with Abert in the car. “Great, Alin, real smart. How am I going to get home now?” I mutter to myself in frustration, moving toward the road to try to flag down a taxi. I can pay the driver when I get home. Suddenly, a pair of handsgrabme from behind and pull me into a strong hug.
Within a second, the familiar scent hit my nose, and my muscles relax and melt into his embrace.
“Abert said you were kidnapped! Where the hell were you? We’ve been looking for you for six hours!” I hear his familiar voice, but it sounds so distant to me as the realization hit. I’ve been gone for six hours. I completely lost track of time and disappeared for six hours.
“I’m so sorry. When I swim, I lose track of time. I haven’t been able to swim like that since I fled the pod,” I say, trying to appease him. I can feel the genuine concern in his voice. Afull minute of silence passes before he releases me from his grip without a word, breaking our contact. It feels like half of me has been ripped away. I immediately protest the separation and reach for his embrace again, but he prevents me from getting closer. His expression is stoic, and the Luca I know is no longer there. The icy look in his eyes has returned.
“You may know too much about the Mafia, but we know just as much about you. I’m releasing you. You’re no longer needed. Come back with me to the apartment, pack your things, and go back to your normal, or abnormal, life. You are no longer a part of me or this family.” He says this without a hint of pain on his face.
A giant hook stabs into my chest in shock. Did I hear correctly? Am I imagining this? This can’ be happening right now. My eyes are fixed on his, searching for a glimmer of hope that what I heard was a lie or a bad joke. His expression is unreadable. He finally came to the conclusion that I’m a monstrous creature he needs to get rid of.
Tears start to flood my eyes, my chest feels like it’s on fire. “Why?” The only question I can force out of my mouth. As soon as it escapes my lips, my sobs intensify, and I fall to my knees on the sand. “Did you do this on purpose? Made me believe you wanted me to stay, that you cared about me, just to break me into pieces? Are you that horrified by me?” I hurl all the thoughts racing through my mind at him. But I won’t let him see me break. I take a deep breath, tears streaming down my face, I wipe them away and stand. “Take me to the apartment,” I order. I turn my gaze from his eyes, not waiting for an answer. And even during the entire long, painful, and silent ride back, the answer never comes.
